Why Are There Ants In My House?

Ants are unwanted guests but somehow they find their way back into the house because they are constantly in search of food for their survival. As per the pest control services, here are some of the most common reasons why ants find your house enthralling-

1. Food

The worker ants are the scavengers for food. They carry food for their entire ant family and also notify the other ants of any potential food through their scent. Each species of ants have different eating preferences.

Precautions:
· Keep the pantry and kitchen clear off crumbs and food spillage.
· Refrigerate fruits and vegetables.
· Clean the spills as soon as possible.

2. Water

Most ants do not require a lot of water to survive. They get the necessary water from food intake. However, species like pharaoh ant need to nest next to a reliable water source while carpenter ants are attracted by damp wood. Leaky pipes are a great attraction to infestation.

Precaution:

Mend the plumbing issues.

3. The climatic conditions

Ants depend on the environment to regulate their body temperature. For instance, you might have noticed ants in the cozy corners of home during winter. No matter how spotless your kitchen is, they are still in the house nesting on some dead wood.

Can ants contaminate the food?

The biggest concern for ants in a house is infestation which spreads diseases. The ants pick up germs as they constantly move in and out of the house in quest of food. If such ants find their way to the food in the house, the bacteria living on the ground is transferred to your food. The sugar ants as the name suggests are attracted to sugary and greasy food like chocolates and cookies.

How to prevent ants from entering the house?

During late spring and early summer, the ants start building their nests and if you are not careful enough they will soon start residing in your home.

· The biggest thing to prevent ants from entering the house is to keep the areas where you cook, store and eat clean. All the food items should be kept in sealed containers. Clean up the dishes as soon as you finish eating the food. This sure is something nobody wants to do right after having a heavy meal. But if you want to make sure that the ants maintain a far distance from your house, cleaning is what exactly needs to be done.

· There might be traces of food and crumbs lying on the floor. Sweeping eliminates all of those. A swept floor ensures that the ants do not find any food source in your house.

· Ants are attracted to sweet and sticky substances as much as they are attracted to food. Wipe down the common areas like counters, table tops and other surfaces with cleaning products.

· If you are at a point where you have already developed an ant problem in your house, identify the trail from where the ants are coming to eliminate them. Just a simple mixture of vinegar and water in the ant trail disrupts the ants. It forces them to find a new path to the food. The ants identify each other with their scents. If you are likely to find one trail, you most probably will find many others. When you find the deviations, spray the mixture to the other trails as well.

· If the pest infestation gets way too serious to handle all by yourself, reach out to a reputable pest control service to get rid of the ants from every nook and corner of the house.